At Least 77 Injured When Floor Collapses at Indonesia Stock Exchange

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Dozens of people were injured Monday when a floor at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta collapsed, spilling people onto the lobby area below.

This photo received from Amailia Putri Hasniawati via WhatsApp shows people looking for victims after an internal balcony collapsed at Indonesia’s stock exchange in Jakarta on Jan. 15, 2018.

At least 77 people were taken to local hospitals after a hallway between two buildings suddenly gave way, according to Argo Yuwono, senior commissioner for Jakarta police department.

Two people have since been discharged. Police said most injuries were minor and they did not comment on the cause of the collapse.

A CNN Indonesia correspondent said after the collapse the stock exchange director was shouting at people through a loudspeaker to evacuate the building, which also houses the World Bank’s Indonesia office.

Valentina Simon, head of Institutional Relations at the exchange, told CNN the collapse happened at around 12:30 p.m. local time. She described the lobby as an open space where tourists would gather, and buy drinks and snacks from a coffee shop on the ground floor.

The lobby was crowded at the time of the collapse, just after people had finished lunch.

Dozens of university students were visiting the stock exchange at the time, many of them accountancy students visiting Jakarta from the island of Sumatra, according to CNN Indonesia.

This photo received from Amailia Putri Hasniawati via WhatsApp shows people running for cover at the entrance of Indonesia’s stock exchange in Jakarta after an internal balcony collapsed on Jan. 15, 2018.

Videos showed some of the students being rushed to the nearby Siloam hospital.

Some were suffering from head and neck injuries, and a hospital spokeswoman said doctors suspected some had bone fractures.

Images on CNN Indonesia showed police cordoning off the area, and directing traffic and crowds from the site.

Officials say they do not know the cause of the collapse. Indonesia has been known to have relatively poor construction standards, and corruption sometimes means safety checks are not always thoroughly carried out.

In a tweet, the exchange said trading would continue as normal “without significant change to the trading schedule.”

The head of communication for the stock exchange, Oskar Herliansyah, confirmed to CNN that trading will resume as usual Tuesday. Trading continued later Monday, with the composite index closed at 6,382.19, or 0.10 up.